Genetic Variation in DNA of Coho Salmon from the Lower Columbia River : Final Report 1993.

The goal of this project was to develop techniques to provide the information needed to determine if Lower Columbia River coho salmon represent a 'species' under the Endangered Species Act. Our report features two new nuclear DNA approaches to the improved detection of genetic variation: (1) Studies of DNA-level genetic variation for two nuclear growth hormone genes; (2) Use of arbitrary DNA primers (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, or 'RAPD' primers) to detect variation at large numbers of nuclear genes. We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify variable sections (introns) of two growth hormone genes (GH-I and G/f-Z) in several salmonid species. Coho salmon had three DNA length variants for G/-I intron C. Restriction analysis and sequencing provided valuable information about the mode of evolution of these DNA sequences. We tested segregation of the variants in captive broods of coho salmon, and demonstrated that they are alleles at a single Mendelian locus. Population studies using the GH-1 alleles showed highly significant frequency differences between Lower Columbia River and Oregon Coast coho salmon, and marginal differences among stocks within these regions. These new markers are adequately defined and tested to use in coho salmon population studies of any size. The nature of the variation at GH-1 (Variable Number Tandem Repeats, or 'VNTRs') suggests that more genetic variants will be found in coho salmon from other areas. GH-2 intron C also showed length variation in coho salmon, and this variation was found to be sex-linked. Because PCR methods require minute amounts of tissue, this discovery provides a technique to determine the gender of immature coho salmon without killing them. Chinook salmon had restriction patterns and sequence divergences similar to coho salmon. Thus, we expect that sex linkage of GH-2 alleles predates the evolutionary divergence of Pacific salmon species, and that gender testing with this system will work on the entire group. Rainbow trout do not show this sex-linked variation. Genetic markers detected by DNA amplification using arbitrary 10-basepair primers (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA, or 'RAPD' markers), are the newest and most promising method of assessing variation at large numbers of genetic loci. We have demonstrated the inheritance of these markers in rainbow trout, and we have found multiple variable genetic markers in coho salmon. Feasibility studies on the use of RAPDs on large salmon collections are described